Reconstructing the ancient urban landscape in a long-lived city: the Asculum Project, combining research, territorial planning and preventative archaeology

The Asculum Project started in 2012 by the Bologna University in agreement with the former Soprintendenza per iBeni Archeologici delle Marche and the Municipality of Ascoli Piceno, mainly as a project of urban archaeology and preventative archaeology in a city which has been inhabited for a very long period of time. A proper integrated methodology and the combination of a wide range of data, including that gathered from geophysical surveys, archaeological digs, historic cartography, bibliographic and archival data, allowed us to reconstruct the cityscape during the Roman Age and its development over the centuries. The understanding of the ancient urban landscape also included a detailed morphological study aimed at the reconstruction of the Roman paleosurface, carried out using data derived from coring samples and stratigraphic digs. In parallel, particular attention was directed to the modern 3D documentation of the historical buildings of the city, by means of laser scanner and the analysis of the stratigraphy of the surviving walls. The new surveys covered, in particular, the still extant Roman buildings, such as the temples incorporated by the churches of San Venanzio and San Gregorio Magno, as well as the Sostruzioni dell’Annunziata. These last acquisitions made it possible to reconstruct the overall layout and urban plan of the town during the Roman Age, as well as to shed new light on the conformation of the ancient landscape at the time of the oldest Piceni settlement. One of the most interesting aspects of the operating practices applied in the project was to reconcile the needs for preservation and research with the aim of a sustainable urban development.